Passion and Power

Chapter 23

Hanni POV

Hanni watched in disbelief as Jay came towards them from across the foyer.

"Ugh, that asshole! He gave you such a hard time when you broke up with him. Talk about not taking 'no' for an answer." Danielle said, sounding disgusted.

You don't know the half of it. Hanni thought to herself. Once again she felt thankful that Danielle didn't know all that had happened. In particular, she didn't know anything about him physically hurting her. And even though she told Minji what he'd done, she had no idea who he was. All she wanted in that moment was to be far away from him. She was grateful when saw a beautiful woman intercept his rush towards them.

"Here are your name tags!" The event staff moved around the table to attach tags to each of the Pham sisters. That gave them enough time to shake out of their surprise.

"I'm really not interested in this reunion." Hanni said angrily.

"Let's get out of here." Danielle said and they both turned their backs on Jay to walk through to the main hall. Just as they walked through Yunjin came rushing forward to wrap Hanni in a bear hug. Hanni was too distracted by the thought of Jay to really engage with her.

"Hanni! Hey, we've got to get you caught up. This is my second drink!"

A small crowd started to form around Hanni, a combination of players and supporters. Everyone was on top of the world and ready to celebrate the win. Hanni looked back and could no longer see him. She felt relieved, but figured that wouldn't be the last of him. To make matters worse Minji had also disappeared and she was longing to see her, even if they couldn't really spend significant time together at the party.

Tonight of all nights, why did he have to be here? She had heard he had joined the family business when his try for a soccer career didn't last. She imagined he must be very good at the schmoozing. He was nothing if not charming.

To most people. Hanni thought grimly.

She decided to put it behind her and try to concentrate on her teammates and the party. She was determined not to let it spoil her night. Just then one of her favorite songs came on. Yunjin's smile went wide with recognition. She grabbed Hanni's hand and pulled her to the dance floor. The music and excitement eventually got to her and she started dancing and bouncing with her hands to the ceiling.

He's not going to get to me. She resolved. That's all behind me.

***

Minji POV

Minji was busy checking every detail of the party. Normally she left things in the hands of her staff, but this one felt especially important. First, it was her best chance of getting another big sponsor lined up for the Spirit. She'd maxed out the Board's willingness to give and now that she and Hanni were exploring a relationship she knew it wouldn't look good for her to use her own money to fix the field and the stadium. Second, and more importantly, this felt like a party she was throwing for Hanni, and she wanted everything to be perfect.

When she finally came out of the kitchen she scanned the room to see if Hanni had arrived. Eventually she spotted her in the middle of the dance floor. Minji's heart leapt with the excitement of seeing her, and especially that she looked like she was having a good time. As much as she wanted to head right towards her she knew she needed to play it cool. It was way too soon to let others know about their connection.

Who knows where this will go anyway. Minji reminded herself. She knew she wanted a real and lasting relationship with Hanni. She wanted more than fabulous sex. She wanted to spend time with her in every way she could. To get to know her in every way she could. But that didn't mean Hanni would want that. Despite all Minji had done to reassure her, she could tell Hanni was still very skittish.